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Reader's stories #4: Detention conditions

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by Toronto Media Co-op

Reader's stories #4: Detention conditions

The Toronto Media Co-op is looking for reader accounts and tips. If you have something information or stories you would like to tell us please click on this link.

The following accounts of was submitted to us by two sisters who asked to stay anonymous. They told us "We want to speak out and tell this story, but we admit we are very scared still." Their full recounting of their ordeal is as follows:

 

My twin sister and I were arrested and detained for 26 hours. During the arrest my sister was sexually assaulted and we were threatened to be beaten later that night in the holding facility. The police officer holding my sister bragged to the other cops about getting 'the pretty one'. A bystander took a picture of this happening, it depicts this story well.

 

[one of the sister's] arresting officer asked me if I was a male because of my name. Then he checked off the box 'transexual' on my arresting form. I do not identify as trans. My paperwork was just a big joke to them the whole time, my name ended up being changed to 'Carol Riddell' by the end.
 
Our charges changed 4 different times, including a totally different charge told to our lawyer. The lawyer was the woman who came to the detention centre to help her clients and ended up being held for 2 hours in a cell. We were not processed for 15 hours-- this whole time left in handcuffs. We were not given a phone call until hour 22.
Now we are presently very sick from sleeping on a damp cold cement floor.
 
During [one of the sister's] strip search, her underwear with pad inside was tossed on the dirty floor, face down. Then she was asked to put that back onto her body.
 
The 25 women in our holding cell were so strong and so amazing... their strong voices confronted the cops, repeatedly saying things like 'this is not okay' and 'how do you feel right now'-- over time this clearly wore down on some of the officers. Some even cried.
 
We want to speak out and tell this story, but we admit we are very scared still.
 
The writers asked to stay anonymous
 
If you have something information or stories you would like to tell us please click on this link.

 


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Tim Groves (Tim Groves)
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"The writers asked to stay

"The writers asked to stay anonymous"

Great.......So I can assume the whole story is fabricated and not be criticized for doing so as there is no way to verify it or speak to the individuals involved to see if their story stands up to questioning......Brilliant story!!!!

 My heart goes out to the

 My heart goes out to the sisters and all the hundreds of others brutalized by the cops.  Thank you for sharing your story with us - the truth needs to be told.  Your strength and courage is inspiring.  

Do not let assholes like Bruce Michaels get you down.

Take good care and heal well.

In solidarity from Vancouver,

e

little harsh

Its understandable why these people may want to have their names withheld for further harassment. The cases can still be proven in court and their identities can be kept secret for their own safety. 

The statistics for sexual assault are pretty grim any way you look at them, lets try and keep these numbers down and any recriminations for speaking out against them. With statistics like 1/5 in america and 1/4 worldwide according to the World Health Organization and Statistics Canada reporting this number to be about 51% of women in Canada I think we could be more reasonable about the individuals involved and their future safety.

You insensitive bastard!

I'm going to assume that you are a government troll.  Any other human being would surely have the compassion to understand that these girls have been traumatized.  I can think of a number of valid reasons for them to want to remain annonymous.  The most obvious one being fear of police harassment.  When a system abuses people, they tend to stop trusting it.

My heart goes out to the

My heart goes out to the sisters and the hundreds of others brutalized by police. Thank you for sharing your story - the truth needs to be told. Your strength and courage is inspiring.

Don't let assholes like Bruce Michaels get you down.

Take good care and heal well.

In solidarity from Vancouver,
e

I would ask the moderators to

I would ask the moderators to consider doing something about Bruce Michaels.  Anyone who knows anything about supporting survivors of abuse knows that rule #1 is to not re-traumatize the survivor by doubting them.  It is very rude and mean to accuse these women of lying.  This past weekend I have seen the police act abusively many times, and this story is nothing out of the ordinary.  

Thank you so much to those who shared this story. 

 Dont worry about Bruce. You

 Dont worry about Bruce. You two sisters are real champions. Im sure Bruce is some Toronto Riot Cop trying to see if he made any head lines in the alternative press. His life is of no importance to anybody. Stay strong, dont let the bastards get you down.

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